Resourcefulness of Women: A Study of Bourdieu’s Field in Fehmida Riaz’s The Daughters of Aai

Abstract

This paper proposes an analysis of Fehmida Riaz’s Pakistani English short story: “The Daughters of Aai” (2007) in the light of Pierre Bourdieu’s notion “field” (1986, 1990) taken from his Theory of Practice. The field is a context and place of survival of individuals, which determines their position in a social order. Keeping in view this notion, the short story “The Daughter’s of Aai” is viewed as a remarkable story of innocence, abuse and the resourcefulness of women in a village in Pakistan. Following close reading analysis method, the study focuses on women’s plight in their contextual field. The study finds out that there are two major fields in the village; poor villagers’ field (which is again sub-divided into the field of men and that of women) and landlords” field. The village women struggle hard to survive in their devalued and dominated field. They save an insane and innocent handicapped girl Fatima in the name of accepted and identical practices in their field, which is to make her Allah Walli (holy woman). Thus, the collective efforts and unity of women helped to make Fatima a resourceful woman, which otherwise was impossible. The study also finds out that the field of village men supports them in their every action taken for their dis/honour. The men can molest any woman (i.e. Fatima) but cannot afford a word for their own woman. For the sake of honour their whole tribe involves in years long fighting and killing, leaving their women widows and children orphans who face prolonged court cases.